


Just This

by imissmaeberry



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 20:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8548288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imissmaeberry/pseuds/imissmaeberry
Summary: It's been almost a year, if Aone thinks about it hard enough, since he's heard from his sunshiny little friend. So the email, from an unfamiliar student from his university, is a bit of a surprise. But he's looking forward to the things that follow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> from a prompt list, originally posted [here](http://aonechan.tumblr.com/post/143149568845/aonehinata-10), "aone/hinata with 'I just want this'"

It started in the spring, with an email.

Aone was _busy_  - mid terms and volleyball practice and internship applications, group projects everyone was currently pretending didn’t exist.

Because he was _busy_ , he checked his email often: for grades, for any possible responses to his applications, anything from teachers about deadlines and class times being changed or canceled, respectively. 

So to see the unfamiliar email in his inbox, nestled among spam and things of importance, strangely titled **CATS!!** , just like that, all caps and two exclamation points, was somewhat…surprising.

He read and reread the sending address, brows knit together as he tried to figure out who shinata3981@students.tokai.edu was.

His heart fluttered a little - _only a little -_  when he clicked on the message and read its contents. 

The email was simple, just a link to a cute video of cats and their strange fear of cucumbers, with a rambling note beneath it - 

_I saw this and thought of you!! I remembered how much you loved cats and I thought you’d want to see it, I hope you don’t mind but I remembered Suga-san saying he went to university with your old captain Moniwa-san, so he got your email from him to give to me, sorry if that’s kind of creepy BUT I WANTED YOU TO SEE THIS!!! and your old email kept sending me back the message so I just kind of figured you deleted it to use your school one, it’s really cool that we’re both at the same school and I didn’t even know! You’re kind of hard to miss!!_

_anyway we should hang out sometime!!_

_\- hinata shouyou_

Realization hit Aone like a truck.

He had wondered why Hinata had stopped contacting him, not once stopping to think that deleting his email in favor of a more professional one would have affected that. 

He immediately began typing his response, more excited than he’d let himself admit, asking if Hinata was free this coming Saturday and sending it off.

Aone didn’t check his email again until he had returned home from classes, laptop perched on his legs and mug of tea in one hand. He has a few unread emails, nothing of major importance, except for one - a reply from Hinata, sent only minutes after Aone had sent his.

_I have a 9 am class saturday morning BUT I’M FREE AFTER THAT!!! if you wanna meet me outside of the gym at noon I’m all yours!!_

_-shouyo_

Aone smiled at his friend’s excitement, sending off a reply to let him know that he would be happy to do so.

He tried to fight the excitement clawing its way into him - it was, after all, only Monday.

* * *

Saturday came, and Aone couldn’t believe that he was worrying over what he should wear, he was only meeting _Hinata,_ his _friend_. Once he was finally dressed and out the door, he could feel the nerves buzzing under his skin. What if Hinata had changed and no longer liked Aone? No, he told himself, that couldn’t be true - Hinata wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of finding his email otherwise. 

What if the day went terribly and Hinata decided he didn’t want to be friends anymore? Aone reminded himself that he could only be himself and go from there - and being himself had been just fine to Hinata in the past.

The tall boy continued to worry and fret against himself, back and forth back and forth, as he stood outside of Tokai’s gymnasium, waiting. He thought to himself that Hinata must be here on an athletic track, unsurprising after the way he’d surged through the volleyball world during his time at Karasuno. 

He was sitting on a bench just outside the doors when he heard the sound of approching footsteps, running at a breakneck speed.

And then there was Hinata, standing in front of him, beaming.

Aone was struck with memories of thinking how like the sun his friend was, and smiled, ever so slightly. 

Hinata was speaking a mile a second, words running off his tongue excitedly, grin broad and bright on his face. He was asking questions without waiting for the answers, waving his hands, bouncing on the soles of his feet.

His movement stopped after a while, words slowing until they stopped and Hinata simply looked down at his taller companion serenely. 

“So, Takanobu, what are we going to do today?”

Aone suddenly realized he hadn’t planned anything other than to meet Hinata here, and opened his mouth to say as much when HInata’s stomach gave a loud grumble.

Aone’s eyes widened and Hinata chuckled and blushed. Rubbing a hand at the back of his neck Hinata suggested, “Maybe lunch first?”

Aone nodded and stood, ready to follow. “Where to?”

Hinata hummed thoughtfully as he began to walk forward, shrugging his shoulders. “Not sure! But I’ll know what I want when I see it for sure! Just follow me, Takanobu!” He thrust a fist into the air, wide grin plastered on his face.

Aone caught himself thinking that he’d probably follow Hinata anywhere.

* * *

On that first Saturday together, Aone had asked Hinata why he’d never seen him at volleyball practice, because surely the sunny boy hadn’t come to Tokai for another sport, and Hinata had explained that he’d been selected for Japan’s Olympic team, and because of that, Tokai was allowing him to solely attend his practices for that, as opposed to trying to split his time between both.

Aone had been stunned, and had muttered out a congratulations and a stuttered response to Hinata’s query about his own studies - international relations.

Hinata had mused loudly about how good Aone would be in his field, and Aone had felt heat rising in his cheeks at the praise.

The two of them spent vast amounts of what free time they had together after that, between classes and practices.

That summer they decided it would be best for Hinata to simply move in - Aone’s roommate would be graduating and moving to Hokkaido, and Hinata spent most of his time there anyway.

* * *

Aone was in love with Hinata. 

It hadn’t taken him very long to see it once it happened - he and Hinata had been sitting in their apartment, watching the high school nationals and eating takeout. The sunlight had filtered through the plants on the windowsill and had landed on Hinata’s skin in such a manner that Aone thought he’d been hit in the chest - suddenly struck by the younger boy’s beauty and light, light and color that he’d brought into Aone’s previously monotone days.

It was a Wednesday just before school began when Hinata confessed to him.

Aone was hunched over his laptop at his desk, Hinata laying on Aone’s couch and thumbing through the calendar on his phone. 

“Takanobu.” He said, pulling Aone’s attention from his work, “I’m in love with you.” For as scared as he would later tell Aone he was, he’d never seemed so calm.

Aone for his part had paled, mouth hanging open as he stared at the object of his own affections. Hinata sat up and looked at Aone, eyes low and blush high on his cheeks. “I understand that you probably don’t feel the same way, and I…being on the team and all, I really can’t be in an open relationship with another man. But I just. I wanted you to to know.”

Aone stared at him some more, trying to find words. He settled for moving from the desk to the couch and sitting down next to Hinata. “Shouyou.” He said simply, “Please look at me.”

Hinata looked up and Aone could see the tears in his eyes, feeling a tight ache in his chest at the sight. He took Hinata’s face into his hands, rubbing his thumbs across the other boy’s cheeks. Aone took a deep breath and admitted, “I’m in love with you. All that matters is that you know that, Shouyou.”

Hinata let his tears fall, wrapping his arms around Aone’s neck and pulling himself into the older boy’s lap. He laid his head on Aone’s chest and breathed in his scent - pine needles from his soap, the bittersweet smell of the green tea he always drank. 

“I….Takanobu I can’t ask anything from you. You deserve someone you can be open with.” Hinata mumbled into his chest.

Aone sighed and unwound Hinata’s arms from his neck, pulled him from his chest to look in his eyes. “You don’t have to ask. Just tell me what you want and let me give it to you.”

Hinata gulped, rubbing the tear trails from his cheeks. “You.” He whispered. “I just want you, and to be _with you._  I want to spend time with you and sleep beside you and kiss you and hold your hand, even if it’s not outside these doors…”

Aone took Hinata’s hand in his own and leaned down to kiss his forehead. Breathily, Hinata whispered, “This. I just want this.”


End file.
